The Courtyard
by chickenwriter
Summary: The origin of the line 'I offered to have him hung by his toes in the courtyard.'


**The Courtyard**

She was in a rare relaxed position on the couch, and he was holding a glass of wine and gazing lovingly at her. They sat in her suite on the night that Mia had finally arrived. Mia had gone to bed early, and left her grandmother to visit with her best friend. Clarisse had missed Joseph dearly when he had gone to retrieve her successor from college. He had been gone two weeks, and she was terribly lonely from the second he hugged her goodbye in the airport parking lot. Without Joseph, she didn't know what to do with herself. Of course, they had talked on the phone every night, raising suspicion from her granddaughter's dirty young adult mind. However, talking on the phone was nothing compared to their face to face chats and fleeting touches.

_Young adult. _Mia was finally grown, and Clarisse could not believe that she was the same awkward girl that she had first met as a tenth grader. Amelia had grown so much over the years, and was ready for the crown. Mia would take over in less than a year, and Clarisse would be free. In a perfect world, free to live her life with Joseph by her side. She only hoped that someday, they could truly be together.

They were chatting softly about the upcoming days events, while Clarisse had other, more flirtatious, things on her mind.

"Your majesty, Clarisse, why, may I ask, would you invited the man trying steal Mia's crown to live in your house?" Joseph took a sip of wine and looked down as he swirled the cream-colored liquid within the glass with a slight movement of his wrist.

"Oh, tush, Joseph, It's not _my_ house."

"Hm." He sniffed. _Very funny._ He thought, wondering how to continue. He loved her even more than usual when she was in a joking mood. "Well where _is_ he staying?"

"In the China room." She said as if he should have known. The China room was so-named for its exotic decor, as was every guest room in the palace. Clarisse liked to call Joseph's suite 'The Bat-Cave' because most everything in it was black, except for the stark white walls.

"Clarisse, that's right next to me."

"Yes, I am aware." She smiled and held her empty glass up as a mocking gesture. He grabbed it playfully from her and slowly filled it up again. As she observed Joseph, she could feel her tongue dart out to wet her lips involuntarily. "Trying to intoxicate me?" He only smiled and handed her the glass.

"So as I finish babysitting Mia, you want me to watch the viscount's nephew?"

"Not watch him, just keep an eye on him." She corrected. He looked at her strangely.

"Can't we just hang him by his toes in our courtyard?" She chuckled softly, dropping her eyes to look at her wine, then back to Joseph.

"No, my dear, we cannot." Joseph perked up at the sound of 'My Dear.' He had waited for her to drop the formal first name address for a long time. Ever since she had requested he drop hers and call her 'Clarisse'. "Joseph, can we talk about us?"

"Us? Clarisse . . . "

"Yes, Joseph." She grabbed his hand, stroking it gently with her thumb. "You see, I missed you very, very much, while you were away . . . "

"I missed you, as well." Her eyes were bright. He loved this about Clarisse. You knew when you had her full attention. She simply lit up.

"And it made me realize, that you've come to mean much more to me than I had expected." Suddenly her expression had turned embarrassed.

"I..." He started, unsure of what to say, afraid at any moment the fading boundaries may be overstepped.

"Oh, I am terribly confused." She stood, setting her wine glass behind her on the table. He followed suit.

"How so?" Joseph took a step closer.

"Well, you see. I've never felt this way before." She uncharacteristically looked down at her feet, clasping her hands together.

"How do you feel?" They were inches apart now.

"Like there are butterflies in my stomach every time we touch. As if all the problems in my heart disappear when you look at me." She whispered quietly, leaning in as if she were going to murmur in his ear.

"Oh, my darling, I feel quite the same way." The first touch of their lips was soft, gentle, and surprising. When Clarisse finally tore herself from Joseph, she had a tear in her eye. "Clarisse, my love, are you all right?"

"Joseph, I love you." She ran her hand down his cheek. "I am sure of it."

"I've been sure from the moment I met you. I love you, Clarisse, with all of my heart."

"I think I've known since we danced in San Francisco. You awakened me Joseph. Thank you." She touched his face.

"No problem." He laughed, leaning his head down to capture her lips once again. "Thank you."

"For what?" She giggled, her face flushed with a charming shade of pink.

"For finally giving in. I have waited for so long. I've been so afraid of the limits between us."

"I am sorry for that, my love." She kissed him three times swiftly on the cheek, speaking between kisses. "So . . . very . . . sorry."

Joseph murmured in her ear, trailing kisses along her jaw line. "I don't want to wait anymore, my love, I can't wait anymore." Clarisse leaned her head back, coaxing his kisses to continue.

"Joseph, we need to stay out of the press, stay in the shadows, the last thing this family needs is negative publicity." Her words were short and breathy. She quieted long enough to feel his lips traveling to her ear.

"If we don't stop now, I won't be able to." Joseph groaned, never ceasing his kisses.

"Is that a bad thing?" Clarisse paused, mulling over his words. Perhaps it wouldn't be. It was quite late, and everyone was asleep. Joseph could turn the cameras off. And she wouldn't hate herself in the morning. But she was nervous. What if she didn't live up to his expectations? From the way he was driving her crazy, he must be quite experienced.

"Clarisse, are you sure?" He pulled back to look her in the eye.

"I've never been so sure in my entire life." She kissed him once more to seal the deal. "However, the cameras..."

"I am on it." Joseph all but flew out of the room to the security base inside the palace. Clarisse heard a beep, and then he was back.

"All off?"

"Yes, I instructed Shades to turn them back on at 6:00, and I had the guards dismissed."

"Oh, you think of everything." Clarisse whispered, biting his ear softly. She gasped when he lifted her up into his arms. He lay her so gently on the bed, she had to reach down and feel if she had actually made contact. Joseph kissed her from her jaw to her collar bone, and back again. She was nearly swooning by the time he looked up at her. "Joseph..."

They crashed their lips together, and he fumbled at the buttons on her shirt.

"Why are they so damn small?" She laughed and moved his hands, undoing the buttons herself.

"Your turn." She said, looking at him. He stared at her smooth exposed skin.

"You are even more beautiful then I...Clarisse..." She'd stopped listening and began to pull his shirt from his shoulders.

"Mm, likewise..." She ran her hands over his bare back.. Clarisse inhaled as he kissed a trail down her breastbone. He reached behind her and undid the latch, revealing almost all he could reveal. "I love you." Clarisse whispered.

"Te amo." Joseph ran his hands through her hair.

AN: There's more to this story, but I don't really find it...necessary ... I don't know if I'll post it or not...it's really just a recap of some of the scenes leading up to the end of PD2...so most likely not.


End file.
